Going Grey?: Women Look Their Oldest At 3.30pm on a Wednesday Apparently

We usually start the week with the best of intentions, however, by the time the middle of the week rolls around we’re feeling tired, stressed and frustrated. Oh and according to a new study, we also look our oldest at 3.30pm every Wednesday. Great.

The Telegraph reports that the study, which was carried out by skincare company St Tropez, revealed that one in ten women find Wednesday the most stressful day of an otherwise typical week.

However, Thursday is the day that we’re most likely to have sex and 60 per cent of us would rank Friday as our happiest day of the week (although to be fair, that’s not exactly surprising).

A quarter of the women questioned as part of the study said that they felt stressed several times a week, while one in five admitted that they usually work through Wednesday’s lunch hour. Two-thirds of the women said that they experience a “slump in energy levels” mid-afternoon every Wednesday and that this forces them to grab a sugary snack in order to boost their mood and energy.

Tiredness is one of the main reasons why we feel so wrecked on a Wednesday

“It’s fascinating that 3.30pm on a Wednesday is the time women look their oldest. Combine the highest stress levels of the week on a Wednesday with the natural mid-afternoon slump and it seems that’s why women can look older than their years,” said Nichola Joss, a St Tropez skin expert.

Another reason why women tend to look older on a Wednesday is down to the fact that almost half of us indulge in a glass (or three!) of wine at the weekend, and it can take a few days for the signs of our weekend drinking to show.

“Processing the toxins in alcohol and sugar can put strain on the body. It can take up to 72 hours for the visible effects of alcohol to show, so the effects of drinking on the weekend may not present themselves until Wednesday afternoon,” Ms Joss said.

Lack of sleep also contributes to our mid-week ageing process, according to the study which showed that more than a third of women reported a severe lack of sleep on a Monday night.

“A lack of sleep on a Monday does not bode well for how the skin will look on Wednesday. The effects of a lack of sleep can take 48 hours to show on the face, so if many women sleep badly on Monday they will look their oldest on Wednesday,” said Ms Joss.

Hmm... we don’t know about you, but we think we might wear masks into work tomorrow so people can’t see how much we’ve aged since today...